This is breaking at the moment and there are not a lot of details as of yet. I will try to keep this updated, feel free to help.
Several dead and up to 10 critical so far reported.
I have a lot of respect for the Wounded Warriors and it breaks my heart to hear about this. Keep them in your prayers.
Quad

7:46p ET UPDATE: Shep reports that we now know that the train hit a flatbed trailer carrying war heroes. Below is the first image from the scene
of what hospital officials are calling a “mass casualty incident.”

7:50p ET UPDATE: The Midland, Texas police chief now confirms that 4 people are dead, and 17 others are in area hospitals according to a city
spokesperson. The event organizer tells the Midland Reporter Telegram Newspaper that workers are still trying to account for everyone after a Union
Pacific train hit the trailer.

I wonder how this happened - the stories seem a little short on details yet
Shouldn't someone have probably had the train schedule or at least notified the rail service so they could let the conductor know...I mean, you're
planning a parade here...it's that sort of thing typical parade planning stuff?

The eastbound train was sounding its horn before it hit the float around 4:40 p.m. in Midland, Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange said. A
preliminary investigation indicates the crossing gate and lights were working at the time, Lange said, though he didn't know if the train crew saw
the float approaching.

Two people died at the scene of the crash, while two others died at Midland Memorial Hospital, City of Midland spokesman Ryan Stout said. Ten of those
injured are in critical condition, while the other seven are in stable condition, he said.

"There is going to be a very thorough investigation," Lange said. "It's obviously a very tragic incident."

Photos of the float taken during the parade show about two dozen people seated in chairs set up on the back of a flatbed tractor-trailer decorated
with American flags. A banner across the truck's front bumper reads, "Heroes on Board."

Police said the float was among two flat-bed trucks carrying veterans and their spouses. The first truck safely crossed the railroad tracks, but the
second truck's trailer was hit by the train. Some of the people riding on the second trailer evacuated before the crash, police said.

The parade was to end at a "Hunt for Heroes" banquet honoring the veterans. The wounded service members were then going to be treated to a
deer-hunting trip this weekend. The events have been canceled.

Lange said Union Pacific is offering help to the community and victims' families, as well as peer-to-peer counseling for the train crew, who did not
sustain any injuries.

"It's pretty traumatic for them," he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board also is investigating, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said.

Wow, this is horrible, and my prayers go out to the families of the dead and wounded, and the engineers on the train. How terrible would it be to see
what was going to happen, and not be able to stop it.

Still, I don't know if we can call something like this a "tragedy" or an "accident." It was pure negligence by the driver of the truck. You
don't tempt fate with a trailer full of war heroes behind you. How stupid was it to even attempt to go across the tracks? Trains don't sneak up on
anybody, and pulling a trailer behind a truck takes extra consideration and skills. A trailer full of people takes even more considerations!

I don't see any possible way this could be considered an accident. Even if the truck broke down at that very moment at that very spot, there were
able bodied people in both trucks that could have evacuated the trailer within a few moments, and you have more than a few moments notice that a train
is coming. You hear it a long way in the distance, you see the lights, you hear the horn, you hear the rumble, and the crossing lights and barricades
are a pretty good indicator as well!

I hope the guy driving the truck was one of the ones killed, because I would hate for him to have to live with this burden, and probably face criminal
charges and lawsuits as well.

I agree, yet I am withholding judgment until further details are released. I can not imagine how this could happen but there are just too few details
as of now to draw a complete picture of the events.

OK, this isn't meant to be comical, but my wife suggested it. Perhaps some of them wanted to die? I mean the idea of this being an accident is just
inconceivable. Midland is FLAT! They would have seen this train coming for miles. Either he tried to cut in front of the train, or they had plenty
of time to evacuate, OR, maybe they didn't want to evacuate?

Originally posted by darkhorserider
OK, this isn't meant to be comical, but my wife suggested it. Perhaps some of them wanted to die? I mean the idea of this being an accident is just
inconceivable. Midland is FLAT! They would have seen this train coming for miles. Either he tried to cut in front of the train, or they had plenty
of time to evacuate, OR, maybe they didn't want to evacuate?

Glad that was not meant to be comical because it was far from it. As I stated above, we do not have all of the details yet. The kind of speculation
you are putting forth serves no purpose.
These people lived through a lot. I doubt very seriously if they wanted to die in this way.
Quad

The preliminary investigation shows that the Hunt For Heroes parade was traveling westbound on Wall Street when it tuned south on Garfield Street
crossing the train tracks. The last two floats in the parade were carrying the heroes and their spouses. The first flatbed crossed the train tracks
completely; the second did not make it across before being struck by the train. The Union Pacific Train was traveling eastbound when it struck the
float. Some of those who were riding on the second trailer attempted to evacuate before the train collision. There were 26 people on the flatbed when
it was struck by the train. They included 12 heroes, 12 spouses, and two escorts.

37 year old Army SGM Gary Stouffer and 47 year old Army SGM Lawrence Boivin were pronounced dead at the scene. 34 year old Army SGT Joshua Michael
and 43 year old Army SGM William Lubbers were transported and later pronounced dead at Midland Memorial Hospital. As of 7:00am, five victims remain at
the hospital (four in stable, one in critical), and one is currently in critical condition at University Medical Center in Lubbock.

wow, to live through so much already, only to be taken in a "freak accident". as someone said earlier, the conductor will be haunted by this
forever, so will the survivors, and the drivers of the flatbeds. i cant imagine how they didnt know to wait, or how they didnt see/hear the train
coming.

of course more info will help, but i dont think my morbid curiousity is all there for this. i hope the survivors can get past this.

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